Deep hooking Flounders. Tip.

[GowerRay]

Having copied an article from one of the Mags on using umpteen beads to attract Flounders I got a bit fed up after deep hooking three of the larger fish. The smaller fish were lip hooked but the larger ones were sucking the line of beads down like drinking through a straw. Beads in the bin! (Conscience )

Anyway, I remembered seeing some fishing programme, Matt Hayes I think it was, where some bloke was catching Eels and to stop them getting deep hooked he put a crosspiece across the eye to prevent the Fish getting past the shank and onto the line with the hook half way down its stomach. I've tried a similar approach with Flounder traces and it seems to work ok. May miss a few bites but I do anyway. I used thin plastic tubing and stainless wire to form the stop. The tubing came from 'Scoobies'. a kid's toy thing. About a quid for a shedfull, although any small gauge tubing will do. I notched a 1" section of tube in the centre so that the hook eye fitted in the rebate and then fed the wire through tube and eye, tying it off each end. Might not win any prizes for looks but it lets me sleep easier. See Pic. (without beads)

[johhno]

Having copied an article from one of the Mags on using umpteen beads to attract Flounders I got a bit fed up after deep hooking three of the larger fish. The smaller fish were lip hooked but the larger ones were sucking the line of beads down like drinking through a straw. Beads in the bin! (Conscience )

Anyway, I remembered seeing some fishing programme, Matt Hayes I think it was, where some bloke was catching Eels and to stop them getting deep hooked he put a crosspiece across the eye to prevent the Fish getting past the shank and onto the line with the hook half way down its stomach. I've tried a similar approach with Flounder traces and it seems to work ok. May miss a few bites but I do anyway. I used thin plastic tubing and stainless wire to form the stop. The tubing came from 'Scoobies'. a kid's toy thing. About a quid for a shedfull, although any small gauge tubing will do. I notched a 1" section of tube in the centre so that the hook eye fitted in the rebate and then fed the wire through tube and eye, tying it off each end. Might not win any prizes for looks but it lets me sleep easier. See Pic. (without beads)

 

Seems like a really neat idea, have you caught any other types of fish ?

[GowerRay]

Seems like a really neat idea, have you caught any other types of fish ?

Only used it with Flounders because of their small mouths. When they are feeding in a fast water like the Estuary near me they grab rather than nibble the bait so it works here. I suppose it will work with other species. Works with Eels as per Matt Hayes or whoever it was. Trial and error? Short length of plank for the large mouth varieties

[five bellies]

If it works its worth a try, The sure fire way that I have found when targeting flatties from the shore is simpley debarb the hook, yes I know that will not solve the gorging problem but if they do, removing the hook isnt the trumatic affair it is with a barbed hook.

Edited February 27, 2006 by five bellies

[spanner]

I find using small circle hooks works as well. Smaller ones are nicely lip hooked but the bigger ones try and swallow it down, but as the point is turned in it doesn't penetrate and you pull the whole bait/hook back out from their a@se no problems. Basically they are never hooked but choking on the bait........and it works.